Election September 2021
Sweden's beleaguered Social Democratic Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said 22 August 2021 he would step down in November to allow a successor time to prepare for the country's September 2022 general election. Lofven was reinstated as prime minister by parliament in early July just weeks after being ousted in a historic vote of no confidence. He told a political rally he would "leave my position as party chairman at the party's congress in November and thereafter also resign as prime minister."
Lofven, 64, had served as party leader for almost 10 years and as prime minister since 2014. "Everything has an end and I want to give my successor the best possible chances," he said. The former welder and union leader had led a weak minority government together with the Greens Party for the past three years, struggling to find a workable coalition following inconclusive elections in September 2018. The announcement of his resignation came nonetheless as a surprise, as Lofven had previously indicated he wanted to lead the party in the next election campaign.
Ewa Stenberg, political commentator at Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, said it was a wise decision on his part. "Lofven's not a good election campaigner or debater, he's not the leader the Social Democrats need in a tough election campaign where rhetoric is important," she wrote. "Against that background, it's logical that he hands over to someone who's better with words and who can spark enthusiasm."
It was not immediately known who would succeed Lofven as party leader, though Stenberg and other political commentators speculated that Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson was a hot tip. Andersson has held the finance portfolio for seven years, and has on occasion stood in for the prime minister. Health Minister Lena Hallengren, who like Andersson enjoyed relatively high ratings among the public, especially for her handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, was also mentioned as a possible successor. Despite being a longstanding champion of women's rights and gender equality, Sweden, unlike its Nordic neighbours, had yet to have a woman prime minister.
Whoever is elected to succeed Lofven as party leader would have to be approved by parliament in order to take over as prime minister.
| Social Democratic Party | S | 28.2 | ± 1.1 % |
| Moderate Party | M | 22.4 % | ± 1.0 % |
| Sweden Democrats | SD | 18.9 % | ± 0.9 % |
| Centre Party | C | 9.5 % | ± 0.8 % |
| Left Party | V | 8.9 % | ± 0.7 % |
| Christian Democrats | KD | 4.5 % | ± 0.5 % |
| Green Party | MP | 3.8 % | ± 0.5 % |
| Liberal Party | L | 2.5 % | ± 0.4 % |
| Other parties | 1.4 % | ± 0.4 % |
Compared with the 2018 parliamentary election, the Social Democratic Party noted statistically significant net gains of about 0.6 percent from the Liberal Party and about 0.4 percent from the Green Party. At the same time, the Social Democratic Party noted statistically significant net losses of about 0.7 percent to the Moderate Party and about 0.6 percent to the Sweden Democrats.
The Sweden Democrats would receive 18.9 ± 0.9 percent of the votes in an election in May 2021. This is a statistically significant increase compared with both November 2020 and the 2018 parliamentary election. Compared with the 2018 parliamentary election, the Sweden Democrats noted a statistically significant net gain of about 0.6 percent from the Social Democratic Party.
On 10 November 2021 Stefan Löfven handed in his application to step down as Prime Minister after an agreement between the Social Democrats, the Centre Party and the Green Party was met. After nearly 10 years at the helm of the Social Democrats, Stefan Löfven bowed out as party leader and eventually as the country's premier. The leader of the Centre Party, Annie Lööf, told reporters they are prepared to allow Magdalena Andersson to be voted through as a new Prime Minister.
New Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson resigned just a few hours after being elected 24 November 2021. The move came following the decision of the Green Party to leave the minority coalition government with Andersson's Social Democrats, following a budget defeat in parliament. A joint budget from the Moderates, Sweden Democrats and Christian Democrats beat out the government's proposal, handing newly elected Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson her first political defeat. Parliament approved the budget after the Center Party chose to back its own proposal and not the government's. The speaker would now start a new round of talks with party leaders, which could end up with Andersson once again facing a parliamentary vote, but this time for a purely Social Democratic minority government. The opposition parties have no interest in taking over power with less than a year until the next election.
Magdalena Andersson was elected again on 29 November 2021. In a 101-173 vote with 75 abstentions, the 349-seat Riksdag elected Andersson, leader of the Social Democrats, as prime minister. Under Swedish law, a prime minister does not need to secure a majority in the parliament. All that is required is to not have a majority vote against them. She will form a one-party, minority government. Formally, she would be installed following an audience with King Carl XVI Gustav, Sweden's figurehead monarch.
Sweden’s next general election is scheduled for 11 September 2022.
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